Match Report: North Walsham Raiders 46 – 24 Southwold

Southwold made the relatively short trip to face a strong North Walsham Raiders side on Saturday, coping with an injury-hit backline in what proved to be a frustrating afternoon. Despite the final scoreline, the contest was finely balanced for long periods, and Wold will feel they had enough territory and possession to have come away with more.

The match started positively for Southwold, with a solid scrum providing clean ball to the backs. Jonny Utting cut a superb line to open the scoring and give Wold an early 7–0 lead. North Walsham responded quickly, capitalising on phases following a tap penalty to level the scores at 7–7.

A difficult spell followed when scrum-half Callum Hurmn was shown a yellow card, and the hosts took advantage. A turnover led to a well-weighted grubber kick through for Walsham to edge ahead at 12–7, before missed tackles allowed them to cut through again and extend the lead to 19–7.

Southwold hit back through their forwards, earning a penalty to the corner and executing a strong driving maul, with Harvey Fuller emerging at the back to score and reduce the deficit to 19–12. However, Walsham replied with another score from lineout phases to make it 24–12.

The hosts then moved the ball wide to score again, with Southwold feeling hard done by after a missed knock-on in the build-up, stretching the score to 31–12. Wold responded well before the break, slicing through the defence from a well-worked backs move, allowing Nick Saunders to finish and bring the score back to 31–17 at half-time.

Southwold started the second half strongly and closed the gap further when sustained phases from a scrum led to Smith powering over, making it 31–24 and setting up a tense final quarter.

Wold continued to apply heavy pressure on the Walsham line, but a crucial knock-on halted their momentum. From the turnover, Walsham moved the ball wide to score in the corner and push the lead out to 38–24. Further penalties and a late wide score from a lineout sealed the game at 46–24 in the closing stages.

Despite the disappointment, there were positives for Southwold in terms of effort, physicality and attacking intent. With players returning from injury in the coming weeks, the group will be keen to learn from missed opportunities and bounce back strongly.

Credit to North Walsham Raiders for taking their chances clinically, and best of luck to them for the remainder of the season.

Arn the Wold!